Sentinels of Creation: A Wizard's Soul

by Robert W. Ross

  Kellan’s eyes widened and his head did a little involuntary shake of negation. “What? Are you kidding me. What the fuck is going on Meghan? Skinwalkers to the left of me. Corpses to the right of me.”

  The former marine closed the distance between them and tapped him on the nose, “Aw, and you are stuck in the middle with me. In answer to your rather stupid question, our friend Maurius is obviously trying to kill me. Now follow.”

  Kellan did, but kept peppering her with questions as they jogged along the tunnel.

  “I had just come back from my date with Sera and was about to strip down for a nice shower and some shut-eye, but that red-eyed Chaotic shit head had layered an almost invisible portal over my bathroom doorway.” She stopped and rounded on Kellan. “You really need to kill this guy, Kel. What kind of a dick portals a gal when she’s about to take a shower? I’m telling you, he needs killing.”

  “Uh, Ok. Everyone seems to be on that topic today, but it’s not like I’m out defending the asshole. Let’s go kill him.”

  “He’s not here, Kellan. He portaled me, did a brief monologue about how I was going to die, you were going to be left without friends or allies, and then you were going to die.” She frowned and raised her right hand, “Hail Hydra. Chaos needs better villains. Anyhoo, bing, bang, boom. Here we are in some abandoned part of the MARTA rail system with a metric shit-ton of Skinwalkers after me.”

  “How many is that exactly?”

  Meghan gave him a sardonic grin, “Enough that I found the need to text,” she tapped his chest lightly, “you.”

  Kellan frowned. “That many?”

  “Yup. Metric. Shit. Ton.”

  “Ok wait, something doesn’t add up,” Kellan said and he guided Meghan to a safety alcove which allowed service operators to remain in tunnels while trains operated.

  She braced her back against one side of the alcove, scanned the tunnel, then turned to Kellan. “Ok, what, doesn’t make sense. It seems an idiotically stupid plan. Even you should be able to follow it.”

  “No, you said you were on a date.”

  Meghan pinched her face. “What?”

  “A date, you said you were on a date. But you are in your black widow stuff.”

  “Kellan, seriously, there dozens of these slimy bastards left and,” she paused staring into his eyes, “you are going to be unable to focus until I explain, aren’t you?”

  The Sentinel gave her a wan expression, “Maybe?”

  Meghan ground her foot into the edge of the alcove and glowered at him. “Fine, I was out with Sera, on a date, and yes, this is what I wore.”

  “Where the hell did you go?”

  “Syria.”

  “Syria? Are you nuts there’s a war—” he broke off.

  “Oh, the dim bulb gets some juice. Yes, Kellan, in any healthy relationship each person should at least try to share the interest of their partner.”

  “So you go to war zones?”

  “Don’t judge me, book-boy. I seem to know of an introverted uber-geek who recently went for a long weekend riding horses with a certain flame haired lass. The same geek who once told me the only horse he ever wanted to ride was in Elder Scrolls Online!”

  Kellan raised his hands. “Ok, this really isn’t the time.”

  Meghan pushed Kellan against the alcove as her wings manifested, “You brought it up! Oh my god, I don’t know how she puts up with you, sometimes. Charge up my Glocks.” She removed both from their holsters and shoved them in Kellan’s direction.

  He stared at her blankly. “Charge your Glocks?”

  The former Marine gave him an incredulous look, “What do you and Shannon do all the time you’re together?” She then waved a hand in negation. “Strike that. I don’t want to know.” Meghan sighed in frustration then said, “The bullets don’t kill them, just slow them down a good bit. Your sword, Shannon’s daggers, they both turn ‘em to Jello-o shots. The Scot and I figured out why. Bullets just needs a bit of that ol’ Green Power juice you guys have.” She glared at him. “So, gimme. Just touch both weapons and coat the gun in your,” she affected Shannon’s accent, “sparkles, Sweetie.”

  Kellan’s eyes flared to life as he wrapped his hands around both of the pistols and willed energy into them. As he did so, they glowed brightly for a brief moment then the glow retreated to where it was barely noticeable.

  “There,” he said irritated, “and remember I came here to help. Did you swallow a mega-dose of bitch pills this morning or did someone take a literal shit in your cornflakes?”

  Meghan laughed at him and made an accentuated pout. “Oh, Sentinel of Order, did my tone injure you? Do you need a safe space?” Her voice hardened, “C’mon, can we please just kill these slender-man wannabes so I can go home, get cleaned up, and hit my rack.”

  Kellan nodded. “Excellent idea, where are they?”

  “There are a group of them just beyond that tunnel wall, so I need you to open a portal exactly 30 meters in that direction,” the former Marine said, pointing.

  The Sentinel looked in the direction she indicated and frowned, “If you’re off even a little, we could end up dead in a wall, Meghan.”

  “My measurements are dead on, now blaze up and open the damn portal.” He stared at her and she ground her teeth. “What, dearest Kellan, is the issue?”

  “I kinda work in feet. How many feet are there in 30 meters?”

  Chapter 14

  A Nephalim Unbound

  The telltale bark of Meghan’s twin Glocks filled Kellan’s ears as he leaped through the portal only half a step behind her. He kept in a crouch as she completed a deadly pirouette. A dozen skinwalkers were all in various stages of collapsing to the floor. As they did, their body’s lost structural integrity and sloshed into a thick, slimy substance.

  “Whoa,” said Kellan, clearly impressed, then he blinked in surprise as Meghan turned to him, her eyes blazing amber. She trained her pistol directly on his head. “Uh—” Kellan managed when her finger tightened and flame leapt from the barrel. The Sentinel was already filled with power and bent time while trying to strengthen his shielding. Neither, he thought, were going to be sufficient. He watched in almost detached fascination and the rotating round slid past his right ear. Kellan turned to see it go by and enter the left eye of a Skinwalker who was behind him with a curved blade already on its downward arc toward his neck.

  Time snapped back into normal speed and the Sentinel stared at the crumpled figure as it, too, lost form and oozed against his shoes. He turned back to Meghan who was in the process of snapping the magazine out of her second pistol and replacing it.

  She shot a condescending smirk in his direction and he pointed at her. “Shut up.” With a playful tilt of the head, Meghan stretched and Kellan saw the black wings unfurl against the tunnel wall and sighed. “Yeah, yeah, you’re a Nephilim and an uber badass. Anything else I need to do?”

  “Sure, recharge these,” said Meghan, then added, “the power doesn’t stick to inanimate things very long. They’re toast.”

  Kellan did and asked, “How did you learn to do—”

  “Shannon,” she replied shortly, “now follow. There are more in the mechanics room. They are gathered there.”

  “Wait, wait,” said Kellan reaching out to grab her. “I thought this was a rescue mission. Let’s just leave these bastards to whatever evil machinations they are whipping up and deal with it later.”

  She rounded on him, incredulous. “Are you kidding? They tried to ambush me. They tried to kill me and when they started getting their asses kicked, your friend Maurius opened a portal for them to escape. They didn’t count on my making it through though. So, now they are fucked.” He eyes brightened further. “We’re gonna kill every last one of ‘em.”

  Kellan shook his head. “Ok, footnote all of that for later, when I have a big glass of scotch in my hand, except…Maurius is here? Where?”

  Kellan’s voice had taken on a dangerous aspect that Meghan has rarely seen, and she
rested a hand on his shoulder, speaking softly. “I told you, he’s not here, Kellan. He just opened the portal for the slimy shits and when he saw I’d come though as well, portaled off somewhere, god knows where.”

  Kellan snarled and muttered something unintelligible, which Meghan translated, regardless of the words actually used. “Yes, he’s a complete pussy, Kellan.”

  “Or, he’s planning something even worse than trying to kill you and Ariel,” said the Sentinel.

  Meghan had already taken a step toward the darkened tunnel exit but turned. “Ariel? The bitchy angel that hates you?”

  “Well, she kinda likes me now. I helped Michael and her out of a pinch so I think maybe our relationship is taking a turn for the better.”

  “Ariel and Michael, the douchey twins. You have got to fill Sera and me in on that one. Not now, though, things trying to kill us. Hold it for James’ Christmas party.”

  “That’s Friday, right?” asked Kellan as his eyes brightened and shields snapped around both he and Meghan.

  “Yeah, and don’t shield me.”

  Kellan reached over and placed a restraining hand on Meghan’s shoulder. He looked at her questioningly. “Why?”

  “Why, what?”

  “Why no shield? God knows what’s down that tunnel and I’m pretty sure He’s going to be keeping that info to himself. I do not need your head being cleaved off by one of those Skinwalker Bat'leth-sword thingys.”

  She smiled at him and squeezed Kellan’s cheeks causing his lips to puff out. “Aw, would the book-boy miss his favorite Nephilim?”

  The Sentinel batted her hand away. “Stop screwing around, Meghan. I went up against these bastards before I even knew what a Sentinel was. They are bad news, especially in numbers.”

  She glanced down at the evaporating puddles of goo. “Yeah, I noticed.”

  “I’m serious and, yes, I’d miss you.” Meghan smirked again and Kellan continued, “But as much as that concerns me, what concerns me more is pissing off the Mantel of War by allowing you to get yourself killed. You didn’t see what he was like when his manifestation turned you into that Fembot. He was uber pissed, Meghan. Uber. Pissed! Nearly brought down the whole tunnel with a punch. I’d rather he not do that to my face. So, like it or not, I’m shielding you. There,” Kellan said, satisfied, as a green haze settled in around Meghan.

  “And I said, no!” growled the Nephilim as the black shadow-wings appeared and her eyes began to glow amber. The shield shattered into tiny motes of green energy and she stared directly into Kellan’s dumbfounded eyes. “You will not always be around. I’m a Marine goddamnit and Marines live for their fire team but can survive alone. You can watch my back, Kellan just as I’ll watch yours, but I won’t have you coddle me. Are we clear?”

  He sighed in resignation. “Clear. You know, you’ve become even more of a bitch since finding out Satan was your grandfather?”

  Meghan had already turned back down the tunnel but whispered back, “No, I’ve always been this much of a bitch, and Devil-Bowie is my great-great-grandfather not grandfather. I checked into it.”

  Kellan had summoned several glowing orbs which rotated just ahead of them, dispelling the gloom. “And how did you find that out? Did you do an Ancestry swab and it came back 30% Irish, 19% English, and 51% Satan?”

  Meghan didn’t respond but suddenly crouched with her right arm raised and her hand formed into a fist. Kellan sank down next to her. “What is it?” He sensed the wild energies that Merlin and Gaia referred to as Natural Earth Magics. A sheen of sweat formed on Meghan’s face and she shuddered with obvious exertion. Around her, tiny wisps of amber began to whirl. The wisps were thin and moved lazily at first, but then became more substantial and spun faster. Meghan turned to Kellan with a feral grin. Her eyes blazed nearly as bright as any of the Mantels he had thus far encountered. She gave a final grunt of effort and all the tendrils of amber light paused for a fraction of a second before combining into a single column. It arced up and over her head, then turned to burying itself into Meghan’s chest. “Ha!” she exclaimed, “You should see the look on your face, Kellan. It’s priceless.”

  “How? Is that from Seramai? I thought you had to be near him or touch him like Shannon does with me.”

  She stretched and the shadow-wings darkened around her, more solid than Kellan had ever seen them. They flexed several times and specks of amber glistened among the feathers as they bent forward to form an aggressive posture. “It’s easier when they are close, but I can draw from any Mantel. In this case, I’ve drawn from both Seramai and Atropos.” She paused and added, “With their permission of course. I’ve not tried to draw from an unwilling Mantle. According to Sera, he reacted quite badly to the one Nephilim that tried it.”

  “I imagine,” said Kellan, clearly dazed by the information. “You know Atropos too? What the hell?”

  “I know all the aspects of Gaia. Seramai took me to meet them. I have a bit of a gal crush on Clotho actually, but it was Atropos who got all close and personal, unfortunately.”

  Kellan sniffed, “Well, I’m glad it wasn’t just me.”

  Meghan looked solemn, “Yeah, after she did it, I told her to make sure she gave you the same treatment if ever she met you.”

  Kellan shook his head, “Bitch!”

  She grinned and started back down the tunnel, “Jerk!”

  “I don’t get it,” said Meghan looking confused, “there were, quite literally, dozens of the slimy shits here when I texted you.”

  Kellan surveyed the abandoned MARTA transit station and shrugged. “Well, they aren’t here now and I, for one, am glad of it.”

  “Why,” growled Meghan, “it just means they will come back later?”

  “Exactly,” said Kellan pointing, “and later means, ‘not now,’ and ‘not now,’ is tons better than now. Now sucks. I’d like the pleasure of their company to be indefinitely postponed.”

  “You’re stupid, but that’s nothing new. Just portal us back to my place and—” she paused and cocked her head. “Do you feel that?”

  “No,” said Kellan, “but I’m getting a bad feeling that not-now is about to become now. Damnit. I’m never going to see that episode of The Crown.”

  Meghan reached over each shoulder and smoothly pulled her twin katanas from their sheathes. “Yep, it’s definitely coming. Feels more aligned with Atropos than Ares, but there’s something else there too. I can’t quite place it. Could be a Mantle I’ve yet to meet, but there’s some kind of tainted Chaotic energy associated with it.”

  Kellan shook his head in confusion. “Tainted energy? What does that even mean? More aligned with—holy shit, I felt that,” yelled Kellan as large chunks of gravel between the tracks bounced several inches off the ground.

  Meghan leaped into the air and hung there, black shadow-wings spread wide and laughed at Kellan’s expression, “Buckle up, book-boy, it’s gonna be a whopper.”

  Her last word still rang in the Sentinel’s ear when the ground cracked open and a massive claw burst upward. Kellan drew deeply from his river of power and felt the comforting energy course though him as runes flashed down his arms. He leaped back just as a second claw joined the first and both pushed hard against the ground, heaving up the bulk of a massive chitinous creature.

  “Ok, it’s a giant demon-crab,” yelled Kellan, “What we need is an equally giant pot of boiling water and some Zataran’s crab-boil.”

  The creature had fully emerged from beneath the tracks and pivoted toward the two of them on it six legs. Between the front-most legs was a roughly humanoid male torso, arms, and head. The face reminded Kellan of several demons he’d seen, but this one had four horns rather than the more common two. Behind the torso rose a large bulbous sack, covered in the same chitinous armor as the rest of the creature. It howled something Kellan could not make out and reared back on four legs. As it did so, Kellan saw two boney protrusions that pulsed with red and amber energy. “Meghan, look out. I think it’s going to—”r />
  Fire burst from the protrusions and lanced toward the Nephilim and Kellan unconsciously tried to snap a shield around her. His power unraveled as it touched her but earned him one of Meghan’s patented death-looks. Her wings bent forward, forming a shield of her own and drank up the fire as it touched them. Kellan’s brow furrowed, “Hey, how can you stay floating like that if your wing’y things aren’t even flapping. It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Bumble bees can’t fly either, Kellan, now shut it and help me kill this thing.”

  She’s right about those bumble bees. How do they fly with those tiny—oh shit, thought Kellan as one of the creatures boney hooks deflected off his angled shield at the last moment. Ok, that would’ve hurt, time to concentrate. Demon now. Bee avionics later.

  The creature bellowed again and fire erupted, this time toward Kellan. He braced himself, falling to one knee and raising his left hand. The Sentinel turned his head and felt the heat as the creature’s blast struck. Kellan strained as he sought to absorb the conflagration that whirled around him in a red and orange fury. Green sparks began to appear randomly amidst the fire and with a sudden hiss the fire vanished.

  “Wow, nicely done!” yelled Meghan as she blocked two of the bone projectiles with her katanas, then managed to slice a deep gash in one of the demon’s legs.

  “Not—yet,” said Kellan groaning under the strain. “Energy can’t be created or destroy. It just. Changes. Forms.” He whirled to the left, eyes ablaze and struck out with his right hand. White light burst from the Sentinel’s open palm and struck the demon full in the chest. Both Kellan and Meghan were thrown backward by a blast of hot concussive air. They stared at each other, momentarily dazed after, again, being slammed against the tunnel wall. Kellan looked back to where the demon had stood seconds before and saw only molten and charred rock that continued to hiss from his plasmatic fire. “Yeah!” shouted Kellan. “That’s what I’m talking about.” He lifted his right arm and nestled his face into the curve made by his bent elbow while extending his left arm outward, both hands flat.